Miter-box



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

K. L. HYLLER.

MITER BOX.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-vSheet 2.

K. L. HYLLER.

MITER BOX.

Patented Sept. 24, 1895.

M. PHOTO-um Uivr'rs KNUD HYLLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VIFTER-BOXI SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,887, dated September 24, 1895.

Application filed March 4, 1895. Serial Na. 540,417. (No model.)

To all whom it may cancer-7a:

Be it known that I, KNUD L. HYLLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Miter-Boxes, which are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of my improved miter-box, set to cut a miter in one direction. Fig. 2 is an elevationlooking in a direction indicated by the arrow 2 on Fig.1- that is, looking directly at the plane of the saw-cut. Fig. 3 is a detailsection at the line 3 3 on Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail end elevation of the beam which carries the saw 'guide posts, showing one of the posts broken away. Fig. 5 is a detail end elevation of the bed and its supporting lugs, the latter being folded up as they are designed to be for the purpose of packing the boX for transportation. Fig. 6 is a detail section vertically across the bed at a piVot thereon for a tilting post, which is shown cut longitudinally at the same plane as the bed.

A is the bed, having the horizontal ledge A2 to support the board or molding to be cut, and the upright lip or face or guide-wall A3, against which the board or molding rests.

A5 A5 and A6 A6 are posts or fingers secured to the guide-wall A3 and adapted to serve as upright extensions of the same in order to adapt the device to hold a wide board or molding edgewise while being cut. These posts A5 A6 are secured to the guide-wall A8 in a manner adapting them to be readily detached and to be adj usted angularly in the Vertical plane of said guide-wall, so that at least one of them may be brought quite close to the cut and adapted thereby to stay the board and prevent the spring or Vibration of the same under the action of the saw. The miter-box being adapted, as hereinafter explained, to cut in planes inclined to the horizontal as well as in Vertical planes at Varying an gles to theVertical plane of the board or of the upright face A5, the fingers A6 are adapted to be inclined more or less to the Vertical plane or to be set in Vertical position to guard the cut when it is Vertical. Each vof the fingers A5 and A6 is arranged to be detachably secured to the guidewall A3 by means of a stud A30, rooted in the said guide-wall at the center .of an arc conformable to which the upper edge of the guide-wall is cut at (130, said edge being beV- eled as well as cut in the arc, the finger having an eye adapted to enter onto the pin, and having an undercutoverhanging shoulder as, adapted to fit and hug closely the beveled edge ago. The finger is put in place by applying the eye to the stud and entering the shoulder aG over the edge a3,and swinging the finger about the piVot to cause the shoulder to embrace more or less of the arc of the beV- eled edge, said arc extending far enough past the Vertical line of the stud, so that in the case of the inner post A6 enough engagement is effected to hold the fingers rigid by the time they are Vertical, and the arc extending enough farther to adapt them to be rocked over to an incline of forty-five degrees. In respect to the outer fingers A5, it is never necessary that they should stand Vertical, and it is therefore not particularly important that the arc should bear such relation to the piVot asto cause a perfect engagement while the post is Vertical. On the contrary, it is sufficient for all practical purposes that the engagement should be effected by the timethe finger is tilted down to a position where it is out of the way of the fingerA6 when the latter is inclined at forty-fiVe ldegrees. At the middle part of its length the bed A is interrupted by an opening a, which is necessary to admit the beam B, which carries the sawguide posts and the saw-track, and in order to permit the opening a'for this purpose, without disconnecting the two parts of the bed on opposite sides thereof; but, on the contrary, to keep the bed practically integral and therefore as rigid as it ought to be for the purpose of a miter-box, the opening a is bridged underneath by a hanger-like portion or chair A', which comprises the arms A10 A10, extending down from the bed A at opposite sides of the opening a to the seat A11, 'which is horizontal and at a short distance below the level of the bed A and extends'across the gap opening a. This seat A11 affords the means for supporting the beam B in a position such that its upper side may hold the sawtrack-a wooden strip B'-on which the sawblade runs at the bottom of the cut, and

which is therefore substantially at the level of the horizontal upper surface of the bed A. The beam B is pivoted to the chair at B3, the axis of the pivotal connection bei ng Vertical and in the plane of the face of the Vertical guide-wall A3 of the bed, so that the adjustment of the beam about that pivot is made without varying the line at which the sawcut intersects said face or Vertical wall. This pivotal line is also located midway in the width of the opening a in order to permit the beam B to swing to an equal distance in either direction. The beam B is madein two picces, the upper piece B2 having a groove 112 to afford a seat for the saw-track B' and the lower piece B4 having the pivotal connection described at B3, the arms B20 E20 and B40 1340 on the two pieces respectively serving to connect them, and being pivoted together at a horizontal line which intersects the Vertical axis of the pivot B?` said line being a litile below the level of the saw-track, since it is impracticable to make it at that level. This pivotal connection is represented at Z)4 bt. One of the arms B20 of the beam B2 is extended below the pivot b4 in the form of a segment, having the slot B21 and a stud-screw B5, provided with a clamp-nut 1350, passing through this slot, so that the nut binds on the outer face of the segment, projects from the lug B, and thereby provision is made for securing the portion of the beam which carries the saw-guide posts in its angular adjustment about the pivot-line 114 D4, such adjustment being provided in order to adapt the device for gaging a miter or oblique cut at and desired angle to the Vertical axis.

The upper portion of the beam B is a shell or skeleton, so made for the sake of lightness and to adapt it at the same time to afford all necessary surface for supporting and guiding the parts which pertain and are connected to it. The saw-guide posts O C, having the sawguides C' C' upon them, are secured at their lower ends to the beam and are adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on the beam to bring them as near as possible to the opposite surfaces or edges of the board or block which is to be cut, so that the saw may have its guide-bearings only so far apart as necessary to admit between them the board or block, thus insuring greater accuracy in the cut and preventing the wabbling or vibrating of the saw between the bearings. In order to afford firm footing for the posts on the beam, I form on the latter the horizontal web B7 a little above the level of the horizontal axis of the beam, and I make a rift D7 in the semicylindrical upper surface of the beam, extending from end to end of the latter. The saw-guide post C, I form with a foot C11, adapted to seat upon the upper surface of the horizontal web B7, and to connect this foot with the post proper I provide a reduced portion C2, which, after the analogy of the word "foot applied to the portion C11, may be termed the "ankle of the post. This ankle is of such width as to enter and fit quite snugly in the rift D7. At the upper limit of the ankle the post has a shoulder C3, which overhangs and bears closely upon the outer cylind rical surface of the beam. The web B7 has a longitudinal slot BW, and from the foot C11 of the post C a threaded siem c' extends down through the slot B and receives a thumb-nut C10, below the web B7, whereby the foot is clamped tightly to the web and thereby to the beam at any point in the length of the beam to which it may be adjusted. On the other side of the saw-track from the rift b7, I form in the upper cylindrical portion of the beam another rift bg, which is designed to afford means of adjusting and securing a check-finger D, adapted to be set up against the face of the board or block being cut to hold it against the Vertical face or guidewall A3 of the bed. This finger D is pivotally connected at d to a foot-piece D', the connection at the pivot being tight enough to cause the finger to be hcld frictionally to any position at which it may be set about the pivot. The foot-piece D' has a rib D10 on the lower surface which is adapted to enter the rift bs, and athumb-screw D2inserted through the foot-piece takes into a nut D20, located below1 the rib and made wide enough to engage the under surface of the cylindrical web of the beam, so that the thuinb-screw may serve as a means for clamping the foot-piece firmly to the beam at any position to which it may be adjusted. The adjustability of the finger D at its pivotal connection with the foot-piece, in connection with the longitudinal adjustability of the entire device on the beam, makes it possible to set the finger np against the forward or outer surface of the block or board resting on the bed, whatever be the angle at which the beam is set, and thereby hold the board or block firmly while it is being cut, reducing to a minimum the assistance required of the hand of the operator for that purpose. In order to give the beam the necessary strength, notwithstanding the rifts and channels forined in it and notwithstanding its skeleton Character, the skeleton is extended at the ends in transverse webs, one of which is seen in elevation in Fig. 4 and indicated by the letter B9, this web being provided with an opening b of suitable size to admit the thumb-nut C10. Any desired number of cross-webs similar to B9 may be provided at intervals throughout the length of the beam, and it will be understood that the opposite end web is of similar form. I have also shown one intermediate web, lettered B1", which appears in edge view on Fig. 2 and is identical in form with the end web B. A

It will be noticed that IGO this construction is well adapted to permit the several parts to be attached, so that the entire device may be compactly packed for transportation and carrying by hand from place to place; and to facilitate the same the legs E E E E are secured to the bed in forked lugs A7 A7, &c., and are provided with short tail projections E' E', which stop against the outer face of the lugs when the legs are properly spread. The lugs A7 for the opposite legs at each end of the bed are not directly opposite each other,but on the contrary are out of line enough to permit the legs to fold up under the bed and lie when folded alongside of each other, as may be understood by comparison of Figs. 1 and 5.

Although, asindicated, the beam is adapted to be adjusted to cut an oblique angle either in a Vertical or horizontal plane, or both, since the most frequent requirement will be to out at an angle of forty-five degrees to one plane while cutting at right angles to the other, I provide in addition to the clamps for securing the beam at any angle in either plane special latches whereby it may be locked quickly at the positions most frequently required. Thus for securing the beam in its horizontal adjustment the chair A' has the segment A12 in an are about the Vertical pivot of the beam and the lower member B4 of the beam has a fiange 1321, clasping theredge of the segment, the latter having the notches (112 a and als, the former at forty-five degrees on each side of the latter, which is at the intersection of a Vertical plane at right angles to the face A3, and a dog 1322 is provided on the lower member B4 of the bed adapted to engage these notches and havinga spring b22 to throw it into engagement and a projecting handle 1322 for convenience in disengaging it. For a similar purpose in respect to the adjustment in a Vertical plane I provide a latch 1342, which is pivoted on the forward or upwardly-projecting arm of the lower member 134 of the bed, said latch projecting through the slot btl in the arm E40 and adapted to engage a notch 12410 in the lower side of that slot to lock the parts together automatically when the saw-posts are Vertical.

For the purpose of more firmly steadying the board or molding to be cut I provide serrated plates G G, to be used when the edge or face of the molding which would be engaged thereby is not finished or is to be finished or used in such manner that the marks which would be left by the device would not be objectionable. These plates G G are let into suitable recesses formed to receive them, respectively, in the edges of the bed at the opening a. The plates are in angle form, having a lip G', which extends under the bed, and a th umb-nut G2 is there provided to clamp them to the bed by binding the lip G' tightly against the under face of the latter, the height of the serrated plate being such that when thus bound the teeth project slightly above the upper face of the bed on which the board or molding rests and will engage the face or edge of the board or molding which rests upon the bed. VVhen the face thus resting on the bed would be marred in an objectionable manner by these teeth, the plates need not be used, and in that case the thumb-screw G2 will be slackened to allow the plate to drop down far enough to bring the points of the teeth below the plane of the upper surface of the bed.

I claiml. In a miter box, a bed for supporting the board or molding to be cut comprising a vertical guide-wall, in combination with finger bars secured to the Vertical guide-walls and having a face adapted to eonstitute a Vertical extension of said guide-wall, such bed being divided between its ends, and a beam carrying the saw guide and extending through the interval between the divided portions of the bed, and provided with means for tilting the saw guides, said fingers proximate to the interval between the divided portions of the bed being adapted to be tilted about their connection with the said Vertical wall of the latter, whereby they are adapted to be ad justed according to the inclination of the saw-cut to sustain the board on opposite sides of such cut: substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the bed having the Vertical wall A3 divided between its ends and the beam extended through the interval and adapted to be adjusted to tilt the saw guide posts, the fingers A6 pivoted to the Vertical guide-wall and having the undercut and beveled shoulder ae, the upper edge of said guidewall being shaped in an are about the pivot and beveled and adapted to engage under the under-cut shoulder ae: substantially as set forth.

8. In combination with the bed having the Vertical wall A3, the fingers A5 and A6 pivoted to the rear side of such wall; the bed and the finger having, the onearigid stud and the other an eye adapted to receive the stud as the means of such pivoting; the edge of the Vertical wall being shaped in arcs about such pivots respectively, and beveled inward, said fingers having beveled or undercut Shoulders formed in arcs about the pivots and adapted to engage tightly the beveled ares respeetively at the edge of the wall: substantially as set forth.

4. In a miter box, in combination with a fixed bed and the beam which carries the saw posts pivotally and adjustably connected to the bed, said beam comprising a semi-cylindrical shell or skeleton having let into its upper surface a non-metallic track for the saw edge and having a longitudinal rift whose mouth at the cylindrical surface :is parallel with the saw track; the saw guide post having a foot with a narrow portion or ankle above the same, said foot adapted to pass within the skeleton beam and the ankle adapted to pass into said rift: substantially as4 set forth.

5. In a miter box, in combination with the IOC IIO

beam B, the shell or skcleton portion B2 provided with a saw track and the horizontal web Bland the rift ZJT through the cylindrioal web; the saw guide post having a foot Cnadapted to seatin the web B7 and connected to a post by the anlile C2 adapted to pass into the rift 117,' the web B7 havingalongitudinai slot and the foot having a threaded stem which passes through the slot; and a clamp nut adapted to operate on said stem and bind against the lower side of the Web: substantially as set forth.

(i. In a miter box, in combination With the beam eomprising a semi-cylindrical shell 01' skeleton having the horizontal Web B7 and the rift fi, the saw post havinga foot adapted to seat on the horizontal web, and the ankle adapted to pass through the rift 117, and the shoulder C3 above the ankle adapted to bear upon the outer cylindrieal surface of the beam, and suitable means for clamping the foot to the horizontal Web: substantially as set forth.

7. In a miter box, in combination With the bed divided between its ends and the beam which carries the saw posts extending between the divided portions, the edges of the bed on opposite sides of the nterval through which the beam extends being provided with serrated lips G G, and suitable means for adjusting them to cause them to protrude or not to protrude above the surface of the bed: snbstantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two Witnesses, at Chicago, Illinois, this 26th day of February, 1895.

K il UD Ii. IIYLIIER.

Witnesses:

UHAS. S. BURTON, JEAN ELLIOTT. 

